Move forth one year later and the team has delivered on some of the goods that fans were hoping for last year, with some added bonuses and if not some familiar territory to survey. Rock Band 2 has been released for Xbox 360 and will be coming soon for the Wii, PS3, and PS2 in short order. After some extensive hands on all this reviewer has to say is that one year later, I can't stop rockin'.

The game has close to 80 songs out of the box, with 20 DLC titles coming soon. Top that with the ability to upload all but 3 songs from Rock Band 1 and use all the songs purchased in the music store, and you have the largest song library to grace any music game to date. Even more, the developers have promised close to 500 songs by years end! That is some long tour dates you can rest assured.

While the visuals haven't been touched too much, there are new venues, clothes, options, and even music video style presentations to fill your backdrops as the note charts wiz by your screen. The set up and most of everything from Rock Band 1 is here with some touches here and there for detail, but honestly at first glance (and multiple glances afterwards) it does look very familiar. But hey, it worked the first go around, why confuse gamers now with a ton of new fangled features that would alter and possibly harm what is possibly the best music game to date.

For the last year, we have had some very good DLC from the folks as Harmonix, with a great majority being actual artist renditions rather than a cover band mimicking a classic song. While the sound levels still aren't quite even, with some bass or treble being more brilliant than others, it is hard to deny that being able to play along to your favorite songs and bands isn't just too damn fun to hear, especially when you do it without botching notes. While some HDTV's will still experience lag, especially when combined with a surround sound unit, the new guitar (which is finally wireless) allows you to at least follow the note chart perfectly thanks to an auto calibrate feature. On the guitar is a mic and visual sensor that will not only hear the sound coming from your speakers, but a "strobe light" effect is done to find the refresh rate of your TV. The result is finally spot on calibration for your guitar and instruments. Unfortunately, you still will find lag in the audio from your drum fills and microphone if you had it last year. But if you follow along with the song, at least your score won't suffer. There is even a new drum set that not only is also wireless, but has bouncy and more sound reduction pads too boot. What's more you will even be able to finally drum roll easily which makes playing this set more like the real thing.

There are two huge modes that will bring gamers back into the fold, even if they have had their fill of the game. The first is the World Tour mode that can be played solo, multiplayer, and even online. What's more you can jump in and out of a band without having to start multiple World Tour Modes as well. This not only increases the single player fun, but makes for unlocking songs more enjoyable for a group as they no longer have to take turns while you uncover new songs. The next and biggest enhancement is the online Battle of the Bands mode. Here you can battle against your friends, or enter challenges that will put your bands skill against other bragging bands to the test. There will be new challenges ranging in all sorts of categories, which will keep the game fresh until Rock Band 3.

I must also mention that some of the note charts from Rock Band 1 songs have been altered and in some cases increased in difficulty. While the game is no where as stupid hard as the Guitar Hero series, this to me, makes the game actually more fun and accessible to everyone from beginners to veterans alike. Heck if you and some buddies tie one on too hard and are a bunch of staggering drunks, there is even a no fail mode just for you!

Rock Band 2 may not be a full fledged sequel in the mind of some critics, but what the team at Harmonix has done is beef up an already established franchise and listened to what their fans wanted. Sure other games may be adding on the idea of playing as a band, but we'll see just how well the competition stacks up against the originators of the idea itself. As it stands, fans who loved the first Rock Band will either have already bought it for the Xbox 360, or are eagerly awaiting their turn to rock out on the other consoles. If you are looking "Through the Fire and the Flames" for a challenge that will make your fingers bleed, this isn't the game that will set your guitar a blazin'. Rock Band 2 does exactly what it set out to do, as Elwood Blues would say, get the band back together.